Hey everyone, I’m seriously looking into getting a custom saddle. What do you recommend for the best quality & price? I have tried just about everything for my wide backed, big shoulder & tall wither thoroughbred mare & nothing has completely worked. I currently have a courbette that I love except it’s extremely slick leather & shallow seat, have had it adjusted to my mare back in July but even then I had to use a half pad.
I love my Hastilow. If you’re in the West you can get one from Dawn Anderson of Anderson Equine, if you’re in the East you can get one from Annette Gavin of Hastilow USA. Excellent quality, excellent price, fully custom with fantastic features. I have a custom Dressage and a custom Jump saddle from them, best saddles I’ve ever had, my horse loves them.
I love my Schleese. I’ve also heard good things about County and Dresch.
County. Hands down. They also have great reps.
I think it’s pretty hard to beat Black Country for price, quality and quick turnaround (usually 4-6 weeks, tops, from order to in-your-hands).
I think a lot depends on the quality of the rep, the return policy, how long you are willing to wait, and whether or not the saddles fit your horse.
OP, you will probably hear both good and bad things about almost every saddle brand out there. I had bad experiences with both County and Schlesse. In both cases I sent the custom saddles back after the rep was not able to adjust the saddles to fit my horse.
Custom Saddlery makes nice saddles, but the wait can be very long. As much as 12-16 weeks in some cases. I have an Icon Flight, but I bought a demo, so there was no wait.
Some saddle makers design things to fit just about every horse, but others tend to have very long or very large panels and gussets which may not work for every horse.
So I think the best thing is to borrow saddles to try from friends at the barn, your trainer, or local places that have consignment tack. From that you’ll be able to get a general idea what might work.
County. Excellent reps and quality.
I have a wide backed, broad & deep shouldered, high withered Tb mare too. I have a semi-custom Schleese that my horse loves.
She likes having a sheepskin pad and she’s ‘the princess and the pea’ about saddle fit…so I have my saddle fitted/adjusted w the sheepskin taken into account so she has adequate clearance around her withers.
Thanks for asking this as I am in the same situation. I am having a Custom Saddlery Rep come out to try some Wolfgang Solo’s and maybe a Steffen Peters advantage saddle. Other threads have mentioned that they can be adjusted a little (not as much as the British brands like the Hastilow or Kent & Masters). I currently have a Hastilow Elevation Concept dressage saddle on trial and found it to be very comfortable, they also have customizable options. However, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind and the price tag was $3500. But…they are fully adjustable and Dawn is great to work with. I will be curious to what other people recommend.
OP, another thing to keep in mind is the cost of reflocking. You may want to factor in what your local rep charges for reflocking the saddles or if there are independent folks who can do this.
In my area one would think there would be a ton of independent folks, but no. Most people are do reflocking work for a single saddle maker and will not work on anyone else’s saddles. The rep from Custom Saddlery charges an arm and two legs for reflocking, about twice what anyone else does. Having saddles checked twice a year get very pricey. The one so-called independent rep nearby won’t work on the Custom brand and comes up with all sorts of excuses why they won’t.
So to get my saddles flocked at a reasonable price, I typically wait until one of a small handful of people from PA or NY come into the area and fit for a large group of local people. I can get that done for about 1/2 the cost of the local rep, although it means that I don’t necessarily get things reflocked exactly when I’d like to. It’s kind of a pain.
I feel the rep is the most important aspect of saddle fit success. Not only do you need a qualified representative, with proper experience and training, but one you can have access to when you need them. I recently jumped ship from the brand I had been using exclusively for almost 15 years. My rep told me he had nothing that would work better than my old saddle of theirs I had had adjusted to my young horse. When it became imminently clear the points were not working for her big shoulders, I really had no choice but to look elsewhere. The decision was made for me when I met the County rep who lived 15 minutes from my barn! (and the swept back, short points of the tree didn’t hurt either.)
Find a couple brands that would potentially work for your horse, then research the local reps. Ask how often they are in your area, what their policy is on making a mistake right, what their level of education is, and for references from clients. There are some wonderful saddles out there with woefully inadequate maintenance options, and I would avoid those. It is frustrating (at best) when you need work done and it is six weeks or more before you can see your rep for help.
Hennig
Where are you located at? We could make some recommendations for custom saddles or good brand reps to work with. Some of the brands that are mentioned are good, but they do not do really custom work. If you fit into their models great, otherwise their job is to sell you one of their saddles.
Depends on budget and area. Customizing a brand with several stock models, which are many listed above, is different than truly building from the tree up a saddle customized to your horse( and yourself)
A slick surface saddle that you are riding in is awful, nearly anything will be an improvement. I agree about finding a good fitter and working with them.
After a lousy experience with County that can be summarized as three saddles in 9 months with progressively worse fits, I went with Trilogy and have been extremely pleased.
Those who say the rep is important are absolutely correct; the County rep was the owner…
Albion is sometimes overlooked, it is a mid range decent saddle with many customization options. Schleese can be very customized, as can Hennig, oth are high $ and depends on rep in area and which saddle you personally like.
There are a bunch of $ lesser well known name custom saddle makers ( not to be confused with Custom Saddlery).These companies tend to get mixed reviews anywhere from fantastic to unusable if you search threads and horse and tack review webstie.
The best custom saddle is the one that fits you and your horse!
[QUOTE=CrotchetyDQ;7929657]
I feel the rep is the most important aspect of saddle fit success. Not only do you need a qualified representative, with proper experience and training, but one you can have access to when you need them. [/QUOTE]
For sure.
I had a custom Dresch made which I absolutely ADORE, and I was the harder fit - they placed the blocks exactly to fit right on my short legs, with short flaps. My horses are all pretty easy fits, so fewer problems for them!
For my young horse I didn’t want to buy new since I assume she will change shape enough to need a saddle replacement in the next couple years. My fitter brought 8 saddles in 7 brands, I believe, and had me try them. She had previously checked out my young horse’s shape for an idea of what saddles would work, so all were good for her. I ended up with a used Dresch young horse (forward balance) saddle - it was the 4th or 5th I tried, I think, and when I sat in it I didn’t try anymore because it just felt right. I still love that saddle, and have considered using it for my gelding who has a short back when I get a new one for my young horse if it can work for my gelding. I think he would actually benefit from the forward balance as lifting in front is super easy but I have to be careful saddles don’t press too far back since he is so short, and any imbalance in the saddle can cause him issues and needs immediate correction.
I know other people for whom Dresch saddles are very uncomfortable. I know a lot of people LOVE Custom saddles. I like my trainer’s ok, but only because it’s slightly large for me - I feel too held in and unable to use my seat properly if they technically fit me correctly. I’ve discovered I like the narrowest twist I can find, highest rise in front, a flat spot in the seat and a flatter back on saddles. Since my horses are both easier fits, that makes life easier for me, too. 
I just finished paying for my Custom Wolfgang Solo… I didn’t have it made, rather I bought it very slightly used from a friend but I absolutely LOVE it and it fits not one, not two, but three of my horses by some miracle! I’ve also ridden in a Hastilow - loved that one too, really beautiful saddle. If I end up getting another saddle for my youngster I will almost definitely go with a Hastilow.
I second/third/fourth the person who said that the quality of the rep in your area is a big factor!
I personally went with Schleese, because I knew I wanted a saddle that could be extensively re-fitted as my horse progressed through his training. I had a GREAT experience purchasing my HK through Karen at Art2Ride in California. She was absolutely fantastic to work with.
I’ve had less success with the local rep, honestly. She’s been painful to work with and frankly her attempts to refit my saddle when needed have left a lot to be desired. Luckily for me, my trainer is super knowledgeable and was able to intervene and direct the changes that have been needed. The saddle now fits both myself and my horse very well.
My horse’s topline has changed quite significantly in the last year or so and so the adjustments to my saddle have not been minor. I think that with many other brands, I’d likely have had to purchase an entirely new saddle by now, so I am very pleased overall.
